ILLEGAL mining of minor minerals (sand and gravel) in Punjab

ILLEGAL mining of minor minerals (sand and gravel) had been going on in and around Mohali for some time.   Subsequently, the Mohali district administration has taken action and registered a number of first information reports against some of those involved in the illegal activity. It is indeed surprising that the administration had not taken notice of this large-scale loot of natural resources, which involved at least 137 persons against whom the police has registered FIRs. Large financial gains, along with a system that did not, till now, interfere with these illegal activities, lend credence to the charges of political patronage of those who were engaged in illegal mining.

It is also a matter of concern that the mining was not only being conducted in an ecologically sensitive zone but also in areas where it is specifically banned, i.e., on the beds of rivulets, on private farmland and in forest areas. Illegal sand mining is an old one, but with depleting resources and increasing demand due to construction activities, it has become more lucrative. The delay in holding a regular auction of Punjab’s 366 quarry sites has further worsened matters. Demand for sand and gravel has been increasing, and various departments charged with checking this illegal activity, especially the Forest Department and the State Industries Department, have not been able to put a stop to illegal mining. Delay in contractors getting their environment impact assessment reports is also an irritant.
It is obvious that the exchequer is losing money because auctions have not been done. The environment is being damaged because of illegal mining in sensitive ecological zones. People living in villages near where such quarrying is going on have been protesting against it. Yet, illegal quarrying was, till recently, going on in the periphery of the state capital, just as it is carrying on in the rest of the state. Now that the Mohali administration has identified culprits and registered FIRs against them, it is only natural to expect action against these individuals. Sorting the problem of illegal mining will take political and administrative will, which has not been demonstrated so far.